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Topic: "PazzPort Helper" (Read 5401 times)

So I recently bought a little gadget called an iPazzPort (among other aliases) and am getting another as a present for someone. Basically, this thing is a tiny wireless QWERTY keyboard and touchpad (picture here, review here). I'm generally enjoying it; wouldn't want to do extensive typing on it at all, though. But--I'm finding out just how spoiled I usually am in terms of navigation on a laptop. This thing doesn't have a scroll region on the touchpad, and it's missing several important (to me) keys: Function keys, Win key, Tab, Shift, Home, End, PgUp, PgDown, Prnt Scrn, etc. You can see the keyboard layout in the above picture. Yep, no Alt+F4, no Alt+Tab, no Win+E, no Ctrl+Shift+End, etc. - all the shortcut keys that I normally use so often.

Especially since I'll be "gifting" one of these shortly, I'm trying to figure out a way to fill the void as far as navigation goes. I've been messing around with a combination of the portable mouse gestures program StrokeIt and an AutoHotkey script. My goal is to have something as simple, yet functional, as possible. Here's what I was thinking so far, but if anyone has better ideas I don't mind scrapping this. This has a lot of re-mapping to remember, which can just get confusing. I'm a newbie at AHK and the below took me an embarrassing number of hours, so if someone else wants to start from scratch, I wouldn't mind that either...

So far my "strategy" has been to use not-likely-used key combinations (e.g. Ctrl+Esc), or multiple key presses with the RapidHotkey function. But there are only so many unused key combinations, and I don't know that they might do something horrible in some programs. And RapidHotkey uses backspace to clear the triggering text entry, which of course causes something else entirely in an Explorer or Internet Explorer window. Plus it's hard to remember, potentially unreliable if the iPazzPort/my fingers are finicky, etc. One of the other things I was doing is to send "down" messages for certain unavailable modifier keys, sleep for a few seconds to give me time for key combinations, then send the "up" messages. Again, there are probably better, more efficient, more easily remembered ways of doing that?

I guess one "missing piece" from the description of my "solution" above is a fairly extensively configured instance of Executor, also portable. I have lots of Alt+Win+___ hotkeys defined, plus I can always type the first few letters of something and rely on autocomplete. So Alt+Win is one of the combos I'm trying to reclaim here...

It monitors for certain unusual hotkey combinations not supported by most programs (like doubletap right shift key). When such hotkey combinations are detected, TapTap will simulate a normal hotkey that the user has configured.

Well, it's interesting, as is OkayKeybees (linked to from mouser's page). But 1) TapTap only seems to accept single- or double-tap, not as configurable as HotKeyIt's RapidHotkey function;2) I think the temporary holding-down of certain hotkeys might be an important part of flexibility in this. Maybe even some sort of Shift lock/toggle thing, where I click one place in a document, toggle Shift-lock on, click another place to highlight everything in between, toggle Shift-lock off.

And part of my underlying question is, is this whole approach too complex? Is there some out-of-the-box thinker who can say "Wait, what about this way that's easier to both implement for the developer and remember for the end-user?" And I'd say, "Huh, never thought of that!"

1) TapTap only seems to accept single- or double-tap, not as configurable as HotKeyIt's RapidHotkey function;

It looks like it should allow you to define taps to take the place of keys missing from your keyboard, which is more or less what I thought you meant.

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2) I think the temporary holding-down of certain hotkeys might be an important part of flexibility in this. Maybe even some sort of Shift lock/toggle thing, where I click one place in a document, toggle Shift-lock on, click another place to highlight everything in between, toggle Shift-lock off.

You've practically reinvented WordStar there - see, e.g., A Writer's Word Processor by SF author Robert Sawyer. Meanwhile, other hotkey utilities you might check out include HotKeyP and HotKeyz (both freeware), especially the latter, which knows about keyboard redefinition. Both can stack multiple commands from a single hotkey, including menus.

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And part of my underlying question is, is this whole approach too complex? Is there some out-of-the-box thinker who can say "Wait, what about this way that's easier to both implement for the developer and remember for the end-user?" And I'd say, "Huh, never thought of that!"

Found a small bug in the RapidHotkeys function; new version of my script coming soon...

"perhaps the only way you can improve any of this is to make it easy to remember how to use. or make it very intuitive. not sure...if it's necessary." It probably is; a person can only conveniently remember so many key combinations! Simplicity/intuitiveness (perhaps with expanded functionality) is part of what I'm hoping someone else has a brainstorm about!

Still some slight problems with the RapidHotkey function, but I think some new bugs are being introduced as old ones are taken out! So this is probably the best to use, though it's not actually the newest. Keys:

Ctrl+Esc = simulate holding down Alt+Win for 4 seconds; I can then hit just one alphanumeric key to use one of my app-launching hotkeys in ExecutorAlt+Esc = toggles Shift on and off (with a tooltip notification on the top left of the screen)Ctrl + Backspace - call the AltTabMenu, which can then be navigated using the arrow keys (or touchpad), Enter to accept, Esc to cancel"Ctrl" 2x (3 times) = Tab"a" 3x = Ctrl+Alt+A (shortcut key for Keepass' autofill feature)"e" - 3x = Executor, 4x = Windows' Run dialogue, 5x = My Computer"q" - 2x = quit focused application (Alt+F4)Esc - 3x = suspend this AHK script for 3 seconds, 4x = reload this script, 5x = exit this script

I'm pretty convinced by now that the mouse gestures program StrokeIt, or something similar, will be an important part of an iPazzPort solution (TPFC entry linked, not program's homepage). Attached to this post is the "Actions" folder (zipped) that I'm using with a few additions that I find helpful (up-stroke for PgUp, down for PgDn, down-left for home, down-right for end, up-left to go back a tab in IE, up-right to go forward a tab, S to start a slideshow in PowerPoint, reverse-S to start from current slide, N to make a new folder in Windows Explorer, maybe more to come?) Just replace the "Actions" folder that comes with the program (not Default\Actions though!) I haven't asked StrokeIt's developer about redistribution or anything, so that's why I'm attaching only the Actions folder. Sorry to make the process harder on anyone wanting to test!

As mentioned above, I also use Executor as a portable launcher (it go off either hotkeys or text autocompletion, kinda like in the Vista menu), but I figure that's more personalized, and everyone may need to configure that for their own needs, if they even choose to use it.

Hope this project is helpful to others, and that I'll be able to get some good feedback toward improving this stuff! Thanks!

i think i'll have to just keep my eye on your development and progress with the script as i really can't get to grips with typing with the iPazzPort keyboard. i only use mine for for controlling a few functions with KMPLayer (and navigating around the desktop and windows explorer), so i haven't the patience to use the tiny keys beyond that. you must be a very determined soul to try and keep typing with the device - i think i'd just grab a full size keyboard.

i don't like admitting defeat so soon, though, so i'll try and give things another go when i can.

the only thoughts i have at the moment is that i'd maybe try to add a popup menu to a hotkey. the menu would then just list the keys and functions you don't require all the time, e.g. the function keys. but, if trying to remember lots of hotkey combinations isn't a problem then there's little point using a menu instead.

beyond that, i like the idea of the rapid keys, i just wonder if there's another way. if so, maybe i'll try to write a script and upload it.

edit:i've been messing about using the script a bit more. i think the rapid key idea works very well as it's so difficult to try and hit two key combinations - which you had, obviously, already realised. maybe i'll try and use that with the KMPLayer controls - if so, i'll say how things go.